Name of the Mine
Rasp mine.

Location  
City of Broken Hill, in the far west of New South Wales, in Australia.

Mine Owner/s  
Broken Hill Operations Pty Ltd (BHOPL). 

Brief Description  
The Rasp mine comprises consolidated mine lease 7 and mining purpose leases 183, 184, 185 and 186. These leases occupy a central region of the historic Broken Hill Line of Lode orebody and incorporate the original mine areas that started operations in the 1880s and include a substantial amount of mining infrastructure from various mining phases.

Brief History  
The Broken Hill silver/zinc/lead deposit was discovered by boundary rider Charles Rasp in 1883, leading to the establishment of the Broken Hill Proprietary Company (BHP) in 1885. 

The original central mining leases were mined continuously from the mid-1880s until the early 1990s.

BHOPL acquired the Rasp mine from Normandy Mining Investments in March 2001 and started works at the site in 2007 with the installation of an exploration decline. In 2011, under CBH Resources, underground mining restarted at the site and ore processing in 2012.

Coolabah Metals entered the picture in 2023 when it announced its intention to acquire CBH Resources, including the Rasp mine, as part of its strategy to expand its portfolio of base metal assets. In September 2024, CBH Resources was acquired by Coolabah Metals.

Primary Metals/Minerals  
Zinc.

Secondary Metals/Minerals  
Silver and lead.

Geology/Mineralisation  
The ore deposits at Rasp mine are hosted by a sequence of Proterozoic meta-sedimentary rocks. Current mining operations are primarily focused on the extraction of the western mineralisation (WM) and the original main lode mineralisation. 

The WM extends from about 100 m below the surface to a depth of near 900 m, where the deposit terminates against the Globe Vauxhall Shear. 

Mineralisation below this structure is associated with the Centenary deposit, which remains open at depth. 

Reserves  
Not stated.

Resources  
Rasp has estimated mineral resources of 10.1-million tonnes grading 9.4% zinc equivalent comprising 5.7% zinc, 3.2% lead and 49 g/t silver. This includes measured resources of 1.19-million tonnes at 6.3% zinc, 3.9% lead and 59.8 g/t silver, indicated resources of 2.61-million tonnes at 5% zinc, 3.9% lead and 58.3 g/t silver and inferred resources of 6.26-million tonnes at 5.8% zinc, 2.7% lead and 42 g/t silver.

Type of Mine
Underground.

Mining Method  
Mining operations are predominantly conducted by an owner/operator workforce, with contractors being used to undertake specialised support services, including fibrecrete application and diamond drilling. 

Mining involves development drives (similar to tunnels) to access the orebody and ore is extracted by excavating large underground voids known as stopes. The stoping techniques used at the Rasp mine include longhole open stoping, modified avoca, cut-and-fill and room-and-pillar.

Major Infrastructure/Equipment  
The mine includes current and historic underground workings; four opencuts, two of which are used for tailings deposition (Blackwood and Kintore pits), one used for ancillary mining activities (BHP pit), and one filled with waste material from the boxcut. The mine also features a processing plant; concentrate rail loadout area; and ancillary mine infrastructure such as water management systems, workshops, offices and other facilities. 

The site also includes historic mine buildings and structures from previous mining activities, including buildings and structures from the start of the original BHP operations. The site also comprises historic waste rock and tailings emplacements, and extensive nonactive mining areas.

Prospects  
Coolabah Metals announced in September 2024 that it had entered into a binding agreement to acquire the Rasp mine and associated assets through the acquisition of 100% of the issued share capital in Broken Hill operations. It also announced a binding heads of agreement for an option to acquire a net smelter return-based 70%-profit-sharing operating arrangement to develop the Pinnacles mine.

The Pinnacles mine, currently on care and maintenance, is located about 15 km from Broken Hill and holds enormous potential to be an additional source of high-grade silver, lead and zinc to feed into the currently underused Rasp infrastructure.  

These assets have previously operated as standalone projects. The integration of the two assets for the first time in history will create synergies that will allow for the material extension of mine life and production rates, creating significant operating cost advantages. 

Coolabah has indicated that on completion of the transaction, it intends to seek shareholder approval to change its name to Broken Hill Mines Limited.

Contact Details 
BHOPL
Tel +61 8 8088 9111

Coolabah Metals 
Tel +61 8 9481 0389

Sources
CBH Resources. Website: https://www.cbhresources.com.au/
Coolabah Metals. Website: https://coolabahmetals.com.au/